Goulais Wind Farm decision expected by April

The developer of the Goulais Wind Farm and opponents of the project could wait for several months before a ruling is made on an appeal filed against the project’s go-ahead.

During the week of December 16, an appeal filed by Heyden resident Doug Moseley against the Ontario Ministry of the Environment's (MOE) October 4, 2013 approval of the Goulais Wind Farm Project was heard by the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT).

The appeal, filed in October, came with the support of Lake Superior Action Research Conservation (LSARC) and Save Ontario’s Algoma Region (SOAR).

The MOE, on October 4, 2013, green-lighted SP Development Limited Partnership's proposal to build a renewable energy facility, consisting of 11 wind turbines designed to generate a total capacity of 25 MW, in the unorganized Townships of Pennefather and Aweres.

In an email to SooToday.com, SOAR spokesperson Gillan Richards said a release of the Tribunal’s decision on the matter must be made within six months after it receives notice of an appeal.

That means the Tribunal’s decision might not come before April 2014.  

SOAR and LSARC both oppose industrial wind farm development, not only in Algoma but also province-wide, insisting wind turbines are harmful to human health, a disruption to wildlife and the environment, costly and inefficient when it comes to power generation, and an eyesore on the Algoma landscape.

Meanwhile, the MOE this past week granted approval of the 58 MW Bow Lake Wind Farm project, to be situated 80 kilometres north of Sault Ste. Marie.

That project is a collaboration between Nodin Kitagan of Batchewana First Nation and Calgary’s BluEarth Renewables Inc., and will be constructed on traditional Batchewana First Nation territory.

It is not yet known if any individual or group will appeal that project.